Wordle wasn’t just any game though.
We sat down with him in London to find out.
So your background is in the traditional video game industry.
What was it like making the move to the New York Times?
I ran theWords With Friendsbusiness for a little while, I worked on Farmville.
So it’s been a gradual transition, it wasn’t a shock.
It felt right - although at the same time this is a very different kind of company.
I was really excited when the NYT reached out - I love having meaning to this work.
It’s very rewarding to be at a company that is mission-driven.
Can you tell us a little about how the Games section works.
How many staff do you have, and does it function at all like a traditional game studio?
What are the crossword clues?
What are the answers?
What is the Wordle word of the day?
There are human beings trained to do this who are touching those puzzles every day.
So, every element in each puzzle is handcrafted - there’s no automation?
Can you tell us how else that editorial approach affects the games?
That establishes the feel.
Every week there’s a furore over some word that he banned that should have been allowed.
How do you see the puzzle section intersecting with the rest of the newspaper content?
Jonathan Knight:It’s interesting.
It’s a long tradition.
It creates a more rounded experience.
The first class was last year and all five puzzles got published.
We have a new class this year with six fellows and we’re excited about that.
So there’s a whole effort underway to continue the tradition of the highest standard of quality.
Do you have to keep the global reach of the digital NYT in mind when writing puzzles?
Jonathan Knight:Yes, indeed we do.
We have a big following in the UK and that’s important to us.
That’s what the NYT games do, too.
Does that affect how you design them?
Jonathan Knight:We talk about that all the time.
One of those is “time well spent”, and that’s really important.
Every puzzle has the date on it, it’s today’s puzzle.
We think it should be time well spent.
That said, we have a variety of puzzles.
It doesn’t have a definitive ending.
But it’s time well spent - that’s the goal.
Is that something you’re aware of?
Jonathan Knight:Yeah, you’re absolutely right.
So absolutely, you’re playing against Joel when you solve the Mini.
Are games becoming more important to newspapers in the digital era?
Jonathan Knight:Yeah, puzzles are a really important part of NYT strategy.
That mandate is broader than just the news now.
That was the full package of the Sunday paper.
But if they engage with two or more, they’re much more likely to retain.
That’s the engagement strategy that’s helping grow our subscription business.
Are you constantly developing new prototypes for games?
Or is your concentration on supporting your current games?
That dynamic is definitely at play for us.
What did you as a team learn from the success of Wordle?
Jonathan Knight:I mean Wordle was just pure genius.
Wordle leverages WhatsApp and uses it as its channel for multiplayer functionality, right?
And you have some real super fans don’t you?
It was a very scientific breakdown of his Wordle habit!
We jump on there and share it out!
Do you pay attention to the different crossword culture in the UK and elsewhere?
Jonathan Knight:We’re very focused on the US when it comes to our crossword.
But I have a lot of respect for the cultural specificity from region to region.
Their crosswords are quite different too.
In fact crosswords are different throughout Europe, it’s been quite interesting to see that.
We’re doing well in the UK, but obviously Wordle and Spelling Bee are easier to make global.
Just don’t put the word “color” in there.
So what’s the future of puzzles in newspapers?
Is AI going to be involved?!
I did that myself.
And it really struggled.
So no, I don’t think that’s coming any time soon.
There will be a race to transition from a provider of puzzles to a gaming service.
I think Wordle has accelerated the idea that we can bring those collaborative puzzle-solving experiences to digital.
That’s what we see and that’s what we’re focused on.
